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Chelsea Manning, media bias and cissexism

Chelsea Manning has been on my mind a lot lately, but not for reasons most cisgender folks are learning about today.

Some of us in the trans community have known that Manning is trans for quite some time. To us, she was known as Breanna. Today, we welcome and celebrate her as Chelsea. We empathize with her pain in ways a cisgender person will never be able to truly understand.

Chelsea Manning coming out as a trans woman today was a bittersweet moment for many trans folks. I, for one, admire her bravery. I also worry about her safety and feel frustration and anger that she is facing 35 years of incarceration in a men’s prison with no access to HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy).

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for trans women to be incarcerated in men’s prisons in the United States and Canada. Recognition of trans women is…